It had been a bad winter for Donald O'Connor. Stricken with pneumonia, the 73-year-old actor spent February on a ventilator and spent weeks recovering. By May, however, he'd recovered sufficiently to be part of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, and now, on Nov. 20, he'll be feted at a gala benefit for the reopening of the El Portal Center in North Hollywood.

It had been a bad winter for Donald O'Connor. Stricken with pneumonia, the 73-year-old actor spent February on a ventilator and spent weeks recovering. By May, however, he'd recovered sufficiently to be part of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, and now, on Nov. 20, he'll be feted at a gala benefit for the reopening of the El Portal Center in North Hollywood.

Best known for his sidekick role in filmdom's "Singin' in the Rain," O'Connor's most recent Broadway appearances were in Bring Back Birdie (a failed sequel to Bye Bye Birdie) and the 1982 revival of Show Boat.

The El Portal center was constructed as a movie house in 1926 -- when O'Connor was a one-year-old. According to benefit spokesperson Pegge [sic] Forrest, by 1928, O'Connor and his family were touring the vaudeville circuit, with the El Portal among the venues.

An earthquake in 1994 wrecked the movie theatre, as well as O'Connor's home. He moved to Arizona; restoration began on the El Portal, which will reopen in January 2000 as a redesigned, legit theatre venue with three stages. Artistic director Jeremiah Morris hopes to offer a world premiere, three west coast premieres and a U.S. premiere during the first season for the 400, 99 and 42-seat stages.